Pierside Village

The proposed Pierside Village that the Huntington Beach City Council is trying to force on us oceanview lovers, beach lovers and surfers is a real shame. First, it's a shame because Pierside Village will block many views of the beach, the ocean, the beautiful sunsets, Catalina and the new pier that will be built soon. Pierside Village is planned to be 35 feet above PCH and will block the views from both sidewalks along PCH. It will block the view from our cars driving down PCH. It will block the views from the new buildings being built and planned on the inland side of PCH. It also will block the pristine views from 5th Street, 6th Street, 3rd Street, 2nd Street and Lake Street.

An Orange County Superior Court jury this week awarded $4.8 million in damages to developer Stanley M. Bloom, saying the city and its redevelopment agency breached a 1986 contract with Bloom to develop the Pierside Village project next to the municipal pier. City Atty. Gail C. Hutton, who announced the jury award Friday, said the City Council will meet in closed session Monday to consider its legal options.

In a move to shield the controversial Pierside Village project from a citizens' initiative in Tuesday's election, the City Council majority has put the beach-area development proposal on its agenda for Monday night. Critics charge that the unexpected move is a deliberate attempt to thwart voters the day before a hotly contested city election.

To the loud applause of Huntington Beach residents, the California Coastal Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to kill plans for the controversial Pierside Village project. "Pierside Village is dead!" exulted Councilwoman Grace Winchell, a longtime foe of the project, shortly after the commission's 12-0 vote.

A legal action seeking to force the state California Coastal Commission to review the controversial Pierside Village project was filed in Orange County Superior Court on Friday. The writ of mandate was filed on behalf of Debbie Cook, spokeswoman for Save Our Parks. The writ seeks to force the state commission to hear new arguments against Pierside Village--something the state agency declined to do in a 5-4 vote last July.

The controversial Pierside Village project hit a snag Monday night when the City Council learned that the development might be considered "waterfront property" and therefore subject to new rules. City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga told the council that state law requires a four-fifths vote before a governing body may transfer "waterfront property" to another entity. Uberuaga said that City Atty. Gail C.

A heated debate is expected at Monday night's City Council meeting when a vote is scheduled on Pierside Village, one of Huntington Beach's most controversial development proposals. "It's going to be close, however it goes," predicted Mayor Peter M. Green, an opponent of Pierside Village.

What a travesty of justice! That's what the Coastal Commission hearing was in Huntington Beach on July 17 ("Coastal Panel Won't Rehear Pierside Plan," July 18). The meeting was held in the Huntington Beach City Council chambers to consider Pierside Village, among other state issues. At 9 a.m., we arrived to participate. After hearing all (other) issues, it was our turn at 4:30. Roger Slates wanted a vote on "substantial issues." Why was Roger Slates even involved when he is an alternate?

To the loud applause of Huntington Beach residents, the California Coastal Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to kill plans for the controversial Pierside Village project. "Pierside Village is dead!" exulted Councilwoman Grace Winchell, a longtime foe of the project, shortly after the commission's 12-0 vote.

On the gentle rise of clay bluffs where sand and sea meet, Gabrieleno Indians once foraged for food and provisions. Sir Francis Drake sailed by in 1579, and in 1904, it was here that Henry Huntington's fabled red electric trains whisked in amid great fanfare. And now this core area of Huntington Beach, the beach-bluff land adjacent to the pier, waits its next turn with history.

Pierside Village, the city's much-fought-over development project, will go before the state Coastal Commission at its meeting Tuesday at Marina del Rey in Los Angeles County. Coastal Commissioner Linda Moulton-Patterson, who is also a Huntington Beach councilwoman, said she is hoping that the state agency will kill Pierside Village by revoking previously given permission for its construction. "This is the opportunity to make sure this project doesn't get started," Moulton-Patterson said.

Pierside Village, the city's controversial proposed development, is destined for a review by the powerful state Coastal Commission. Coastal Commissioner Linda Moulton-Patterson, who is also a city councilwoman here, announced Monday that the commission voted in closed session last week to reverse itself and hold a public hearing on the project. No date has been set.

The controversy over Pierside Village, a proposed beachfront development project that drew the wrath of environmentalists before it was killed by the City Council, has now led to a $4-million civil lawsuit against the city. Stanley Bloom, a developer who sought to build Pierside Village on oceanfront land near the pier, on Tuesday filed suit in Orange County Superior Court, charging that the city breached a contract with him regarding the proposed development.

A legal action seeking to force the state California Coastal Commission to review the controversial Pierside Village project was filed in Orange County Superior Court on Friday. The writ of mandate was filed on behalf of Debbie Cook, spokeswoman for Save Our Parks. The writ seeks to force the state commission to hear new arguments against Pierside Village--something the state agency declined to do in a 5-4 vote last July.

We have a Coastal Commission to protect the coast, right? How come this commission's members are playing "no big deal" and turning their backs on protecting the environmental beauty (what's left) of Huntington Beach's coast? Could it be there's a big deal of green (and I'm not talking grass and flowers) among the Huntington Beach City Council, developers and the Coastal Commission? Ask a first-grader to problem-solve the following: There's a patch of land that has one building, walkways and some flowers and grass.

For Roger D. Slates, last week's meeting of the California Coastal Commission offered a forum to display his considerable political skills on his hometown stage. During the four-day session, Slates--a Deukmejian appointee to the commission--had a busy agenda.

Back in 1949, state legislators became alarmed at the increasing commercialization of California's coast. So they passed a law restricting cities' ability to sell "any portion of a waterfront." Now that law could derail the controversial Pierside Village project in Huntington Beach. Final City Council action on the project has been delayed while the city attorney's office scrutinizes the obscure law and decides whether ocean-facing land near the pier is legally considered waterfront.